


Mutt

by koffeebeans



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-18 14:44:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16996971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koffeebeans/pseuds/koffeebeans
Summary: umm drunk wip? for a beloved discord





	Mutt

"I always take off for Cosmic," Emiliah protested. Her boss looked unamused, but a little sorry. Dianna was so forgiving all the time, but Emiliah could not work that night. It was impossible.

"Emiliah, please. Just this one time? It's Saturday and all my highschool employees asked off!"

Emiliah shuddered involuntarily. If she had to work that night… no. She wouldn't work. She'd risk her job for this.

"I'm sorry, Dianna. I can't do it." Dianna sat in frustrated silence, her mind battling whether to force it or let it go. "…then you'll work all day Monday, Tuesday, and Friday?"

Emiliah relaxed. Her job was safe. "Of course. Thanks, boss. See you then."

Emiliah loved her job at the bowling alley in downtown Ebott. It was a very popular place and tipped surprisingly well - even better than a Sonic. That, and with the monsters emerging from the mountain base just a few miles out?

Yeah. She could only describe it as 'making bank'.

Monsters mainly resided in town, but a lot of them stuck close to the mountain and built a little village around the barrier. Mountin, they called it. She remembers a cute cat monster telling her it was supposed to be reminiscent of a town underground; Snowdin.

However, Mountin was a huge inconvenience. It was in the middle of the forest and was bustling with activity. It wasn't exactly a small town, there were at least 5000 monsters and humans living there. Surrounded by Ebott Elm (the forest that acted as it's own barrier between Mountin and Ebott), the newly established residents were driving away… well.

They were driving away monsters.

Humans had their traditions for reasons. Don't bring mutts in the house and never invite a stranger inside.

Werewolves were mutts and vampires were strangers.

Humans called them by those artificial names, but if a human caught two people in an argument over "strangers" and "mutts", they looked the other way. It was none of their business and they knew it.

But monsters didn't. They're naturally inquisitive and kind, so they can't help but to ask and try to diffuse the violent situation.

Somebody's LV increases in the end.

Emiliah was a mutt. A very secretive mutt. If she actually followed the rules of the wolf stereotype, in a pack she would be considered an Omega, fighting to gain a respectable hierarchy in life. Mutts don't have packs, but there is safety in numbers. They don't exactly get along with strangers.

Humans just cover up the truth with age old folk tales and bedtime stories, like they did with the monsters. In recent news regarding the barrier break, some people have addressed the legends. Emiliah's kind did little in response - a few wolves here and there terrorized their neighborhood with howls of respect, wanting to be recognized. Strangers left their Mark a different way…

Emiliah shuddered again, chuffing under her chilly breath. Murder cases like those were horrifying to hear about. And the monsters that fell victim… They just…

Suck the magic out of them.

She wonders if it's the equivalent of being high. It's no secret that blood makes any mutt or stranger drunk. Alcohol doesn't do it for her at all, but she isn't a bloodthirsty dog with a death wish, either. Only strangers can get away with that.

Not that they should, but they do.

After leaving the parking lot, Emiliah followed the lonely sidewalk to Mountin. Yeah, she'd talked the town down, but the apartments were affordable and close to the forest. Very convenient on the full moon.

"oh- sorry."

Emiliah held her bruising hip. She'd just run into somebody, and although it wasn't very painful, she was a little worried about the monster in front of her.

"Are you okay? I totally wasn't paying attention." Emiliah scratched the back of her head awkwardly. It was silly, but she expected to be chewed out when he just stared at her. She was waiting for it, when-

"nah, kid, i was bein' a _numbskull_ and ran inta ya. _tibia_   __honest, i'm a little embarrassed." The monster held out a boney hand. He was short, but as short as she imagined a monster could be - he was a whole two heads taller than her and the actual definition of 'big boned'. His phalanges were rounder and smooth, animated. His smile seemed stiff and permanent, but when she took his hand, it visibly relaxed.

Not used to kindness from another species?

She knew the feeling.

…and were those _puns_?

"Very punny. All's forgiven," Emiliah said with a smile. "I'm Emiliah, by the way."

The skeleton ducked his head into his sweater and hoodie. "sans." Blue dusted his ivory cheeks.

"See ya 'round, Sans."

Well, that was uneventful. Nice guy, though.

She didn't hear his footsteps as she walked away. When she glanced over her shoulder, he was just gone.

*

"Hey, sweetheart."

Emiliah walked past her landlord Dave with a polite wave. He was a stranger and a little suggestive at times, but that was to be expected. As least he knew boundaries.

The vintage Otis elevator doors opened with violent squeaks. She closed and latched it behind her before selecting her floor, ignoring Dave's leering stare. She made it up in no time and fished her keys out of her pocket. All the way down the hall to the right, next to the emergency exit staircase. She specifically requested that apartment when she was moving in.

The inside was fairly plain. It opened to the kitchen, which was connected to the living room. A hallway lead off to a bathroom and bedroom. There was one closet and a trunk at the end of a queen size bed. One wall was decorated in pictures of family, friends, and scattered momentous.

Emiliah curled up over the thick comforter on her bed. She unlocked her phone and replied to messages she hadn't seen in a few hours, scrolled through social media, and liked a picture or two. It was standard procedure. Just another normal day.

_Ding_. Unknown:

*knock knock

Emiliah's finger paused over the LED screen. The message loomed back at her as she tried to recognize it.

It seemed fitting to say, "You have the wrong number," but something inside her urged to humor them.

**Who's there?

*skeleton

Skeleton. Like the monster she'd met today? How creepy is that?

**Skeleton who?

*ive got a skeleton of questions for u

**Is this Sans?

His response was hesitant. He seemed to be typing for a long time, so she went to the kitchen and microwaved a TV dinner. As she took it out and let it cool, her phone dinged.

*heh, ur pretty smart. can you help me?

Emiliah paused over the virtual keyboard. She didn't know him and she was honestly a little freaked out that he'd found her number after just running into each other (literally). She locked the screen and thought about it over dinner. Obviously, if he tried anything, she could protect herself. She had no experience with monster magic, but she had a surprising amount of physical strength and stamina. Nothing could outrun her. Then again, she heard stories about monster magic. How powerful it was. How dangerous. What if he was one of those boss monsters?

It kept haunting her while washing dishes. Did she really have a choice? If he found her number that easy, how hard would it be to find her apartment? If she told him no and blocked his texts, he might… well, she didn't know what he might do, but it was still a scary thought.

(…maybe a little overdramatic.)

**What do you want? How did you get my number?

*i need to know what these things are outside my house.

**Things?

*people? not human

**You didn't answer my second question.

*i went through your phone, duh

Emiliah glared at the screen like it was his face, her fingers moving at lightening speed.

**Don't you think that's a violation of my privacy? You don't even know me. I don't know you. I don't have to help you.

*please

…

If they were strangers, he would be safe as long as he didn't invite them in.

How he knew they weren't human, though, was a mystery, because sometimes she couldn't tell herself.

However, if they were mutts, he needed to leave. Mutts don't usually go for humans and monsters, but when they do, 90% of the time it's because they're trying to assert some kind of dominance or make their territory known. It's very unheard of, but not unlikely. This sounded like a stranger kind of problem, though. Mutts hunt alone, not in packs. (Stupid stereotypes.)

**What are they doing? How many are there?

*knocking on the door. asking to be let in. about five of them. i had to lock my friend in their room so they didn't open it, like they were possessed

Must be a little kid. Children are young with open minds, so easily persuaded by a nice looking stranger. Adults have fear that keep them alive.

*i can't do anything about this

That's right. He couldn't just attack them. The cops had a terrible history with monsters so far. Any magic used on a human got them prison time, no questions asked. There's no such thing as a fair trial for a monster.

**It's creepy you magically stole my phone to get my number, but I think I can let it slide just this one time. Where do you live?

*

Emiliah didn't take the elevator. She took two stairs at a time through the emergency exit, threw the heavy metal door open, and broke into a sprint toward Ebott.

Fifteen minutes of constant running.

The muscles in her legs were on fire. Her heart hammered in her chest, blood roared in her ears. She smelled them before she saw them.

"Little piggy, little piggy!" They shouted, banging on the windows and giggling maniacally. Every human and monster house was shut up tight, curtains drawn. A man raked his sharp nails down the orange metal door, sending ear-piercing screeches down the street. All five of them were thin and starving. Probably hadn't eaten in days.

"Stranger danger," Emiliah purred as she stalked closer, hands in her pockets. She glanced up at the targeted house. Hm, very nice. It was painted sky blue. Cute. Five pairs of bloodshot eyes landed on her, fangs bared.

One of them _hissed_ at her. Emiliah's lips pulled back into a snarl.

"Shut the _hell_ up, dog," the man spat, his little hellions cackling. All four of them were women dressed like homeless crackheads.

Definitely fit the part…

"This is mutt territory, Howard," she shot back."You don't belong here."

"There's no food in those trees! I want that  _magic_ everybody's crazy about!" He appeared very suddenly in front of her, but her wolfish smile just widened. "I want that skeleton."

Her face fell, fury twisting her expression. "Not without an invitation."

A growl rose in Howard's throat. His teeth became a little sharper.

"Emiliah Runt, don't forget where you came from, now…" Thin fingers caressed her cheek, making her shiver. "You don't need an invitation, do ya?"

Just as quick as his touch, he and his minions were gone. All that was left was a ruined door and quiet houses.

Emiliah walked up the path to the house. She thought about texting Sans that it'd been taken care of, but her presence (and scent) in the house would keep unwanted threats away.

_Knock, knock_

It took a minute. The door swung open.

It was Sans.

\---

He didn't mean to run into her, but he wasn't sorry in the slightest.

"Are you okay?"

Sans's eyelights stared down at the human. She was so short and small compared to him. It was a wonder she was able to knock him back so hard. "I totally wasn't paying attention."

Humans are never this kind. He checked her soul out of curiosity.

Oh.

That's different.

The heart floating in her chest was gold. Not yellow, not orange, but _gold_. Was she Justice? Bravery?

"nah, kid, i was bein' a _numbskull_ and ran inta ya. _tibia_ honest, i'm a little embarrassed." Sans held out his hand. Her small fingers took it with a gentle grip. He let himself relax.

"Very punny." Heh, good one. "All's forgiven. I'm Emiliah, by the way."

_Emiliah_.

Sans flushed and tried to hide his face. "sans." He 'ported her phone into his pocket. Thankfully, she didn't notice.

"See ya 'round, Sans," she said, walking her original path. Sans watched her for a moment before taking a shortcut home.

*

After putting her number in his phone, Sans returned the device to it's rightful owner. Frisk had advised it after he told them about Emiliah's soul, but he was planning on doing it anyway.

Creep.

Papyrus made spaghetti for the first time in weeks. The nearest grocery stores were not monster tolerant and had run Paps out with racial slurs and threats. He had to convince Sans to not dunk on them when he told him about the encounter.

The kid was spending the night so Sans could take them to the Embassy early in the morning for some kind of meeting. Must've been very important with how excited Frisk was. They even ate seconds and did dishes.

Sans wasn't complaining, even though it was his turn to wash.

At around 7 pm, Frisk was yawning and signing goodnight. They dragged themselves up the stairs for bed.

…fifteen minutes later, they were running straight for the front door. They tried frantically pulling it open, slamming their tiny fists against it, mouth moving but not able to form words.

Sans struggled to hold them back. He was panicking, attempting to get a coherent response, when somebody knocked.

Sans hadn't felt fear in a long time.

He teleported Frisk to the guest room and used his magic to keep it locked. Papyrus held a giant bone behind him, clearly freaked out, but ready to fight anything beyond the door. Meanwhile, Frisk kept screaming and crying like a crazy person.

The knocking became more violent. Voices drifted through the door. Giggling.

"Sans," Papyrus whispered. It was out of character for his usually boisterous brother. "What is going on?"

"dunno, paps. go upstairs."

"But-"

"go."

Papyrus hesitated, but did as he was told. He stood outside the guest room and tried to calm Frisk down, orange tears threatening to spill over the state his friend was in.

Sans's eye flickered blue and yellow flames as he read the intruders souls. All five of them were silver. Some of them held traces of real color just under the surface, but the man that lead them was like pure silver chrome, reflecting whatever people wanted to see.

He radiated _evil_.

There was only one person he could ask for help, if she even knew what was going on. His last solace before he resorted to magic. It felt wrong to ask somebody he barely knew, but… He was officially desperate.

*knock knock

She didn't respond right away and he really needed her to. A smile broke his face when she did.

**Who's there?

*

Now they stared at each other in absolute silence. Even in the dark, they could see. Sans had natural night vision from the underground and her eyes glowed like lights.

"You heard all that?"

Sans blinked and nodded, but was still confused as to what any of it meant. "you're a mutt? what does that mean?"

Emiliah's lips pursed. Clearly, she didn't want to tell him, but he knew too much to keep the rest hidden. "Let me in and I'll tell you everything."

_Let me in._ That's what Howard was screaming at the door. He couldn't just barge his way in without an invitation. Did that mean she needed one? "do i have to, uh-"

Growling (like a dog, not a grumble), Emiliah pushed him out of her way easily, slamming the door behind her. "Is the kid okay?"

That was a no.

The confusion faded when she mentioned Frisk. He froze her legs with blue magic, grin strained. "how did you know they were here?"

"Ugh! Jesus, take a chill pill, Sans. There's a lot I know that you don't," Emiliah spat. His smile widened and his fingers curled, broken bones appearing all around her, pointed at her face. "enlighten me."

Yeah, those looked pretty sharp. A shudder ran through her. "I'm a werewolf and those were vampires."

Sans wasn't amused. "the truth."

Emiliah wasn't either, her eyes never leaving the spinning bones. "I just told you the truth?" Weren't monsters supposed to be notoriously open minded? She blinked and the bones were gone. Feeling returned to her legs. "Can I check on the kid now?"

"no."

Seriously.

"Why not?" She prodded, smelling the anger and power wafting off him. It was intimidating, but she was stubborn.

"because you're crazy. werewolves and vampires don't exist," Sans pointed out, as if this was a reasonable explanation. He held his skull in his hands, shaking it back and forth.

She should've expected this. Sans was clearly a renound skeptic. How was she going to prove it to him?

…

There was one way.

"I'm not crazy. I can show you." Emiliah lifted the sleeve of her sweatshirt, showing off stark white skin. "Are you easily nauseated? Does the sight of blood make you ill?" His head shot up, alarmed. "what?"

Raising a brow, Emiliah opened her mouth to reveal two sets of sharp canines. Sans's sockets visibly widened as she brought her bare wrist close to her mouth. Suddenly, he was in her face, holding her arm away from her sharp teeth, eyelights focused on her mouth.

"fascinating… they weren't like this just a second ago." Enraptured, Sans reached out to poke one. Bone touched bone with a clank. It was _real_.

Meanwhile, Emiliah was shaking, face red. Close proximity was not her thing when she could smell everything from miles away, and Sans smelled so good.

_No_ , he didn't. He couldn't smell like anything. He was a skeleton. She freed her hands and pushed Sans on his backside. "Personal space, bud."

It was his turn to flush. "s-sorry. it's just, your-" With a snapping sound, the teeth retracted into her mouth. It had been a long time since anyone had seen them besides herself. It made her a little self conscious. "I know. I tried to tell you." The heat on her skin was replaced by the normal cool exterior she wore. "I need to make sure that child is still here and breathing. You're lucky they didn't invite those strangers in."

"i-i… ok." Emiliah didn't wait for him. At his approval, she was following the kid's scent in seconds, bursting through the door and rushing to the bed, ignoring the tall skeleton that shouted for Sans.

The twelve year old laying under the covers - sweating and shivering with ragged breaths - was very nearly close to a comatose state. The aftershocks of persuasion were painful and could last hours, but Emiliah had plenty of experience with relieving it.

"Sh, shh," Emiliah soothed, parting their matted hair away from their forehead. Her fingers stroked their dark face. "Listen to me, kid. Breathe with me." She took the child through a breathing exercise. Once the rise and fall of their chest was normal, she left the bed and ran her hands over everything in the room. The blanket, the pillows, the window sill and curtains. Her scent would create a sense of comfort - and ward away any strangers.

In a matter of minutes, the child was sleeping peacefully. Hopefully they wouldn't remember what happened.

"I have to leave now," Emiliah said as she descended the stairs. The other skeleton was nowhere to be seen. Sans stood by the door, a blank look on his face, in his own little world of thought. She snapped her fingers in his face to get his attention. Startled, he blinked at her.

"If anything happens, call me. Don't text me, call me. As many times until I pick up." She opened the door, avoiding his gaze. "I'll be back when they wake up, but not for long. Tomorrow is Saturday."

Sans was quiet, thinking. "…the full moon?"

A smirk broke her stoney facade. "Now you're getting it. Remember what I said."

And then she was gone.

\---

Emiliah woke in cold sweat. Clutching her stomach, she rolled out of bed and landed on her hands and knees. Wave after wave of heavy nausea wracked her body until she was crying and screaming.

An hour later, she felt fine, locking the apartment door behind her. She took the lift to the ground floor.

Dave looked sympathetic when she passed him. "Have a great day. Good luck tonight." He winked and patted her shoulder before she got too far. "Sounded pretty bad this morning."

"Sounds like that every time, Dave," Emiliah muttered, flinching away. The double doors slammed on her way out.

Walking to Ebott took at least thirty minutes. Running was out of the question. It would trigger her shift if she exerted any energy. Even her fingers ached with the need to rip something apart.

Or herself.

Her skin shivered at the thought. The wolf inside her howled to be let out. The moon wasn't even in the sky yet.

Howard really did a number on the house. Ten lines were shredded through the metal of their front door from where he'd dug his claws in. The sides of the house didn't look any better from his minions. Emiliah avoided cutting her hand open and rang the doorbell. Five minutes went by. Maybe she was early? It was only 10:45…

The door opened. It was the thin skeleton she saw yesterday. "HELLO HUMAN!" He was much taller and definitely resembled a skeleton, unlike Sans. He wore what seemed to be battle armor and a long red scarf.

"Hello," Emiliah replied gently, offering a smile. The skeleton beamed, his eyelights forming stars. "HOW POLITE! YES, I REMEMBER YOUR FACE FROM YESTERDAY. COME IN!" Emiliah stepped past him and took in the living room. She hadn't had a chance to really look at it before, so she took the time to. They had a creme colored sectional to the left of the door, right next to the stairs. The TV played MTT movies and shows back to back. She assumed the doorway to her right lead to the kitchen because of the delicious smell floating her way.

"That spaghetti smells good," she commented quietly. It didn't seem like anyone was home besides this skeleton. Also…

"My name is Emiliah, by the way."

Papyrus glanced over his shoulder, smiling. "NYEHEH! IT'S VERY NICE TO MEET YOU! I AM PAPYRUS. FRISK IS WAITING FOR YOU UPSTAIRS!"

He didn't have to tell her twice. She wanted to bolt up the stairs, but diligently took them one at a time, saving her energy. The door was open just a crack, voices whispering through. "yeah, kid, i know. none of it was your fault, ok? somethin' weird is going on… c'mon, don't cry. i promise it won't happen again." A pause, some chuckling. "i can promise whatever i want."

Emiliah opened the door completely. Frisk shot up out of bed, gripping Sans's stained shirt with fearful eyes. Sans wrapped a boney arm around them.

"S-sorry, I'll go-"

Frisk began to sign rapidly. "they want you to stay," Sans interpreted. "they want to thank you."

Emiliah hurried to their side of the bed, grasping their hands. Frisk sniffled. They looked so vulnerable. Something about Sans pained expression told her they weren't usually like this. "There is nothing to thank me for. What I did for you is... Well, it used to be my job a long time ago."

Sans met her gaze. "your job?"

Emiliah nodded solemnly. "Trust me, what happened to you guys used to be a very regular thing… until the barrier broke. Mutts like me, Omegas, we were tasked with keeping a sort of peace around here." Then she closed her eyes to a painful memory. "Before that, my kind was worse than those…" She clenched her jaw and growled. "Filthy _rodents_."

The absolute fury in her soul hit a place inside Sans he thought he'd be able to forget.

He knew that look.

He knew her anger was Justified.

She was just like h i m.


End file.
